![[Picture of me at the Bully Hill winery]](wine/bh/bhsign.jpg)
Disclaimer: This page is not supported by Bully Hill Vineyards. It is entirely my own creation, intended as a resource for the wine connoisseurs, freedom fighters, and goat lovers of Princeton, Santa Fe, Ann Arbor, and beyond.
Last modified: Saturday, 11-Apr-1998 21:23:46 EDT
Yes! As of January 1997 Bully Hill Vineyards has an attractive and professional web site at URL http://www.bullyhill.com/.
A few years ago a friend of a friend showed up for a dinner party at my house bearing a strange gift: a bottle of wine with a very curious label. The fellow told me about a totally mellow & cool vineyard in upstate New York where the wine tours were unpretentious and the goats ran free. I had to check it out for myself. Having recently purchased a motorcycle I decided to ride northwards in search of the fabled Bully Hill.
After a scenic ride through upstate New York I reached the pleasant towns of Hammondsport and Urbana on the shores of Lake Keuka in the western Finer Lakes region. Bully Hill was closed and it was getting late, so I crashed on a hill overlooking scenic Lake Keuka and spent the night under the stars. The next day I toured the Bully Hill winery and heard the tale of the owner's long heroic struggle against an Evil Hegemonic Soulless Corporate Winery that stole his name but didn't get his goat.
![[Big Goat Picture]](wine/bh/bgtrans.gif)
I learned that Bully Hill is committed to the principle that "a product is the extension of the human soul," not exactly a common sentiment among industrial corporate wineries and their greedy stockholders.
![[Unofficial Motto]](wine/bh/product.jpg)
I bought a case of wine (which I shortly afterward discovered is hard to carry on a motorcycle) and lots of Bully Hill paraphernalia and a little goat that fits perfectly on the shoulder.
Every kind. They have rosé wine for tennis, space shuttle red and white, several species of goat wine, and cold fusion. They have wines for fishing boats and balloons and raccoons and funny mushrooms. They also make a few champagnes (including a red champagne!) and grape juices for kids of all ages.
See the next section for information on other Bully Hill wines that are available in Princeton.
To the best of my knowledge, three stores near the University stock Bully Hill wines. Next time you're in a liquor store, ask for it. If they don't carry it, tell the owner you wish they did. Below is a list of Princeton stores that carry Bully Hill wines and the varieties they stock. Click on the name of a wine to see the label. This list was last updated 6 January 1996.
You can always order directly from the winery. Literally dozens of varieties are available, each featuring a different colorful label. The winery accepts credit cards and will deliver a case to your doorstep via UPS. The number to call is (607) 868-3610.
The thing that makes a Bully Hill wine stand out on a liquor-store shelf is the label. It's colorful. It's playful. It's joyful. It makes you want to give bottles to your friends. You know that if you bring one to a dinner party people will remember it.
Most wineries are staid, conservative, pompous and image-conscious, and their labels are accordingly as stuffy and pretentious as a Grey Poupon commercial. Not Bully Hill. Bully Hill's wine labels are, to say the least, unconventionally colorful. Nearly all of the labels were painted by the owner of the vineyard, Walter S. XXXXXX (he's not allowed to sign them with his full name, thanks to a Federal court decision in favor of an Evil Hegemonic Soulless Corporate Winery; watch this space for details). Some of the labels depict the space shuttle. The originals hang in the National Air & Space museum in Washington. Walter S. XXXXXX was one of a handful of painters commissioned by the government to paint the shuttle.
The following directions from Princeton work for me:
From Princeton, take 206 North to Bridgewater. Then take 22 West through Whitehouse and Patterson to I-78 West. Take I-78 West to exit 17, which puts you on 31 North. Take 31 North through Washington to Buttzville, then take 46 North or West (I forget which) to Columbia. Take I-80 West to Exit 44, then I-380 West to Scranton PA. From Scranton take I-81 North to Binghamton NY. At Binghamton, take Route 17 West through the towns of Elmira and Corning. This is the really pretty part of the trip.
From Route 17 take the second exit for the town of Bath. Turn right at the end of the off-ramp, go to the second traffic light, and turn left onto Route 54. Follow 54 for seven miles to Hammondsport. Turn left off of 54 at a traffic light into Hammondsport (pop. 800). At the second stop sign, turn right. One-quarter mile further on, take a left up a hill, following signs to wineries. Bully Hill is 2 miles up the road.
I urge you to check the above directions against a road map. If you find a better way to get to Bully Hill, send me mail and tell me about it.
According to my odometer it's no more than 280 miles from Princeton to Bully Hill. The ride through New Jersey is surprisingly pleasant, and the roads in upstate New York (particularly Rt. 17) are absolutely beautiful.
Take the tour of the winery and check out their wine museum. Ask about harvest-season job opportunities. Check out the gift shop, where you can buy Bully Hill T-shirts, aprons, posters, pot-holders, bumper stickers, wine glasses, bicycle shorts, ladies' underwear (featuring a strategically-placed glow-in-the-dark Bully Hill goat emblem), and much more.
According to a Bully Hill brochure dated 1993, the retail shop is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. through 5 p.m. on Sundays. Tours are given every hour or so. It's a good idea to call first and ask about their hours. The number is (607) 868-3610.
Enjoy the towns of Urbana & Hammondsport. They're quiet places free from the rat race of the academic fast track. Sail or windsurf on Lake Keuka. Ride a bicycle around the lake. Picnic. Visit Cornell University or the University of Rochester or Lake Ottowa. Relax. Frolic with a goat in a meadow.
If you have friends at Cornell or the University of Rochester, crash with them. If you don't have any friends in western New York, several bed & breakfast places are probably available in Hammondsport and Bath, although I've never investigated the matter because I stay with a friend in Rochester whenever I'm in the area. Bully Hill operates two lodging homes near the winery, which are open from Mid-May through Mid-November according to a brochure I picked up last summer. Call (607) 868-3226 for reservations.
It's a long story. Watch this space; if I have the time I'll post it here. If you really want to know, write to me and I'll tell you about it.
Bully Hill isn't just a wine, it's a way of life, and it needs your help. What can you do? Drink the wine. Tour the vineyard. Share the gift of goat wine with friends. Spread the word. If you're not on the Princeton campus set up a Bully Hill Web page for your school or community.
Maintained by Terence Kelly
Last modified: Saturday, 11-Apr-1998 21:23:46 EDT
